Instructing the PCO
This part of the PCO website provides information and resources to assist departmental officials involved in preparing legislation.
New: Turning Policy Into Law »
This resource is designed to be an interactive and easy-to-use resource for instructors. It covers:
- the key steps in a standard process for Bills, with the roles of instructors, drafters, and other key people at each step
- tips for how to work best with others and what are the “PCO essentials” that you need to know
- more detailed FAQs that address particular issues that instructors regularly encounter
- a kit for instructions, including instructions templates for Bills and secondary legislation, and a planner for developing Bills
- handy links to other external resources useful when developing instructions or planning your process.
Its current main focus is on Bills, but includes resources for secondary legislation with more to come.
Turning Policy Into Law replaces and updates the Guide to Working with the PCO, the Kit for Instructors, FAQs for instructors, and checklists for drafting instructions and the introduction of Bills.
The menu at left links to these resources:
- Turning Policy Into Law including step by step guide, FAQs, instruction kit
- Plain language including PCO’s Plain Language Standard, Checklist for applying the standard, and supporting documents
- Transitional and savings checklist for the transition from an old law to a new law
- Clauses for standard elements of Treaty settlement Bills for use in Treaty of Waitangi settlement Bills
- Publishing forms and graphics for details of how to format forms and graphics for publication in legislation drafted by the PCO
- Choosing fonts for use in forms and graphics
- Model clauses for alternative dispute resolution to support Chapter 29 of the Legislation Guidelines
- Notifying Legislative Instruments for how to arrange for Legislative Instruments to be notified in the New Zealand Gazette (if they aren't made by the Governor-General)
- Notifying Other Instruments for keeping links to Other Instruments up to date on the New Zealand Legislation website
- Legislative disclosure statements including guidance on publishing disclosure statements
- Guidance on regulatory impact statements for requirements for regulatory impact statements and their printing requirements
- Highlights from the PCO Quarterly for excerpts from our newsletter for instructing departments.
We offer seminars to instructing departments. Please contact us, or contact your Drafting Team Manager directly, for more information.
We are also always keen to hear your feedback on any of these resources.
